On The Hunt Again
by P.M.Hall
Summary: Jun resumes her career as a bounty hunter despite the loss of her Shirshu, she tracks down Iroh after his escape from prison, but is surprised by the old man. I decided to replace "Oh, the people that I meet," with this story for the contest.


**On The Hunt Again**

I don't know where I went wrong, I've never failed to catch any quarry that I have pursued, that is until I was recruited to capture The Avatar. Everything seemed to be going so smoothly, I had captured The Avatar's friends, and my Shirshu was relentless as he chased The Avatar around the courtyard of an abbey.

Then everything came crashing down, the water tribe girl splashed my Shirshu with perfume, and the beast went crazy. I got slashed with the poisonous tongue, and so did my employer, the scar-faced brat of a Prince. His uncle, a creepy old man had a disgusting crush on me, but I didn't mind because I was having fun insulting him and his nephew. What I did mind though was the fact that he pretended to be paralyzed by my Shirshu's spit just so he could lay under me.

Damn was I angry! After all I went through, all that and I wasn't going to get paid, I had botched the job, and to top it all I wasn't going to be able to move for an hour. I was forced to lie on top of that man until I got feeling back. After my failure we went our separate ways, I searched and searched for my shirshu, but I had no luck. Without my mount, it looked like my very profitable career as a bounty hunter was over.

I wandered around for months, going from city to city, passing through the most remote parts of The Earth Kingdom. During my wanderings, I heard very interesting stories, mostly rumor and conjecture, so twisted up it was hard to distinguish what was true, but what I know to be true is that Prince Zuko was nearly assassinated, and The Fire Nation was defeated during their siege of The North Pole. The Avatar became one with The Ocean Spirit, and decimated the fleet of Fire Nation ships. The leader of the siege, Admiral Zhao, I think his name was, was dragged into the water and drowned, by The Ocean Spirit.

After that I began seeing wanted posters of The Prince and his Uncle, they were fugitives of The Fire Nation. If I knew where they were I would have gone after them, I could use the money I would get for their capture.

Unfortunately, without my Shirshu, I would have a very hard time tracking them down. I knew that if I had managed to track them down, then the hardest part would be over. I knew that my previous employer was a very skilled fighter, and a Fire-bender, I had seen him fight The Avatar. I was pretty sure, that I would be a match for him, despite my lack of bending, but because I was not a bender, I did not want to take that chance. I figured that if I held the old man hostage, Prince Scar Face would probably surrender.

Soon after I began seeing wanted posters, I began hearing more news, The Prince and his Uncle had separated. During the separation The Prince had wandered into a little Earth Kingdom village. While there he had gotten into a fight with a small group of Earth-bending soldiers, and had been forced to use his Fire-bending. The villagers immediately ran him out of town once they knew who he was.

Then the trail went cold for awhile, that is until Princess Azula snuck into The Capital City of Ba Sing Se, and conquered The Earth Kingdom from within her own walls. As it turned out Scar Face, and Uncle Fatso had taken refuge there from The Fire Nation. The Prince had helped his sister defeat The Avatar and conquer The Earth Kingdom, and Uncle Fatso became a traitor and helped The Avatar escape.

The two fugitives were now going back to The Fire Nation, one no longer considered a fugitive, but now thought of as a war hero. The other was going back in chains. I felt really bad, bad that I had not captured them and gotten a fat reward. But as luck would have it, The Prince decided to abdicate, and his Uncle somehow managed to escape from prison. I was now on the lookout for the smallest bit of information about their whereabouts, and my diligence would pay off.

Not long after The Prince abdicated, I heard that he had joined with The Avatar, and that he had been captured again. I was severely disappointed, but they still hadn't captured his uncle, I still had an opportunity. It seemed that The Prince had broken into a maximum security prison that was located on an island, and in the middle of a boiling lake. But why? Who was he trying to break out? It seemed that though Old Scar Face had a knack for getting into trouble, he also had a knack for getting out. He escaped, along with a few other prisoners, and I was on the hunt for him again. Since The Prince was now with The Avatar, I had a most exciting opportunity to track him and his friends down, and get revenge

After relentless searching, it seemed that I had finally caught a break. I saw the old man sitting down in an alley way, and begging for money. Since he didn't know that I was looking for him, I had a prime opportunity to catch him. I walked up to him and introduced myself. His reaction was disgustingly comical, he still hadn't gotten over his crush on me. "Jun!" He exclaimed. "How lovely it is to see you again," and he leapt up to greet me.

The moment was perfect, and I wasted no time. I grabbed him by his arms and whirled him around. I had placed a knife to his throat and told him that if he resisted I would kill him. Strangely he did not seem afraid, "I like forceful women," and then it happened in a flash, I felt a surprising pain in my stomach, and then in my face, the old man had elbowed me very hard. I staggered back, and with a sweeping kick he knocked my legs out from under me, and I toppled hard onto the unforgiving pavement.

"It really was lovely seeing you again Jun, and I hope our next encounter will be just as nice." He smiled at me, and then ran down the alley. I was humiliated, this was the second time I had lost my prey, but I would not lose him for long. I took out a long thin tube, and placed in a shirshu spit dart, since I no longer had my mount, this was a perfect subsitute. I shot the dart but the old man dodged it, and unfortunately I didn't have any more darts, so I was forced to give chase. As I was giving pursuit, I took out my whip, and with a crack launched it at my prey. The old man turned around, caught the whip on his forearm, and yanked as hard as he could. I felt my feet leave the ground, and then an unforgettable sensation. I felt spinning, I saw a blur of color, and then before I registered what had just happened, I was slammed into a stone wall. I grunted in pain, and nearly passed out, I felt weak, and I couldn't get up. I heard a distant voice say "I'm sorry Jun, I hope you will be all right," and then everything went black.

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